Use recycled facial tissue (Change 138)

The idea of hankies went by the wayside a long time ago.  I caught a really bad cold a few months ago, and ended up using copious amounts of Kleenex.  I never got back in the habit of using hankies.  So you can imagine my delight when I discovered that Scotties is now producing a 100% recycled fibre facial tissue.  It is EcoLogo certified (http://www.ecologo.org/en/), and actually manufactured in Canada.  Like most things environmentally-friendly, it is a higher cost that the regular brands.  But is makes me feel good, and makes my nose feel good too.

No more make-up (Change 133)

I had the best intentions of switching all of my cosmetic products to eco-friendly solutions.  Really, I did.  A few, I've managed to change.  But the rest are sitting in my bathroom drawer, waiting for me to use them up, so I can make the switch. 

It struck me this week, that even if I keep up this challenge for the next 5 years, I will never be able to completely make the switch.  The reason?  I don't wear makeup.  As a stay-at-home mom, I can't be bothered putting on my "war paint" just to hang out around the house.  I don't wear it when I go out to the grocery store or the drug store, either.  Lately, I've been putting it on to go to work, but a couple of times I forgot, and the world didn't come to an end.    I've also realized that I've gone out socially a few times, and haven't been wearing make-up then, either.  No one has said anything.

That got me thinking about why women wear make-up.  It is really to enhance their beauty, because they want to look beautiful, or is it because societal expectations are such that women are expected to wear make-up from the minute they wake up, until they go to bed at night?  Deep questions to ponder, and a discussion that is really to big to take in single blog post.  However, for those who are interested in persuing this discussion, I would be happy to take it off-line.   I also recommend reading Naomi Wolf's  The Beauty Myth.  A real eye-opener into a billion dollar industry.

So back to me and my thoughts on make-up.  95% of the time I don't wear it, don't feel like I need to wear it, and everyone who is important to me comments that I don't need to wear it - my beauty is natural.  I think I'll save it for really special occaisions - when I want to up and look extra pretty - family photo sessions, my brother's wedding, special outings with DH.  The rest of the time, I'm going with the conscious decision to go au naturel.

Buy all natural eyeshadow (Change 104)

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I don't wear a lot of cosmetics on a day-to-day basis.  I'm usually "au naturel" when at home with the kids, or out and about running errands.  However, I do succumb to vanity when I go to work, or have an appointment (doctor, dentist, etc), and put on some eyeliner, blush and a little bit of lip colour.

I've been using the same products for years, but resolved to improve my eco-friendliness in cosmetics after starting this blog last July.  Unfortunately, because I don't use a lot of cosmetics, the ones I have last a long time.  For the price I paid for them, I'm not about to throw them out and go buy new ones.  I decided to replace my cosmetics as I use them up.

The opportunity for eyeliner came a couple of weeks ago.  I use a dark eyeshadow with a lid liner brush as my eyeliner.  I contracted pink-eye from somewhere, and unknowingly had used my brush and eyeshadow while I had it.  When I re-infected myself, I realized what I had done and threw out the eyeshadow.  (I washed and disinfected the brush). 

I used this opportunity to buy myself an all-natural eyeshadow.  It is made with pure botanicals and passes the Skin Deep test.  I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but after reading online reviews about the product, I think I will be satisfied with its application.  I'll let you know if my opinion changes after I use it.

Body-friendly deodorant (Day 19)

I'm slowly "greening" my beauty regime.  As I use up my current products, I plan to replace them with environmentally and body friendly alternatives.  Next on the list is deodorant.

I have to confess right now, that I am NOT looking forward to this change.  With kids, I am outside a lot.  I tend to perspire heavily, especially in summer, and have always used antiperspirant as a means from preventing my clothes from getting too stinky and stained.  The one time I tried a deodorant (as opposed to antiperspirant), I ended up with sweat stains on some of my favourite shirts.

I dutifully checked EWG's Skin Deep database (http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/).  I checked my current antiperspirant and was pleasantly surprised to find that it rated a 5 out of 10 for nastiness.  However, my goal is to try and get all of my products to 3 or less.  I found three products that are carried at my local drug store.   I need to pick up a prescription today, so will also pick up one of these deodorants while I"m there.

I'm going to grin and bear it, and hope that I don't get too smelly.  And hope that I can find  a "green" stain remover, just in case.

It's only skin deep (Day 8)

I need to change my cosmetics regime.   One of the worst offenders in the chemical chaos is the cosmetics industry.  Too many harmful chemicals are absorbed into our skin and poured into our river systems.  If I'm going to "greenify" my life, I need to start with myself.

As it happens, and the reason for today's blog, I needed to buy some face moisturizer.  I don't use a lot of cosmetics, but I do use this product everyday.  So I decided to check out the Environmental Working Group's cosmetics database (www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/index.php) to see how my current product rates. 

OK, that was scary.  My current moisturizer rates 8 out of 10 on the nasties scale.  Obviously, I wouldn't be replacing that exact product!  I also didn't want to have to visit a specialty store to buy green products, or pay for extra shipping/handling from a website.  I wanted to be able to purchase the product at my local drugstore or grocery store.

I made a quick trip into the store, to find all of the "green" cosmetics that were carried.  I wrote down the names of the ones that I thought would be suitable.  I picked the one that had the fewest nasty chemicals that I could read on the label, and brought it home for comparisons.

I was surprised by the ratings given to several of the supposed "green" products on the EWG's database.  Many scored 7, 8 or 9 on the scale, when I was sure they would be 2, 3 or 4.  I also plugged in several well known "regular" brands, just to see how they rated.  At the minimum, they were all 8 out of 10.

The product I ended up with scored 4 out of 10.  Much better, although not as good as I had hoped.  I paid for the "greenness", as it was twice the prize of my regular brand, but I feel this is money well invested.  I tried the product this morning, and am very pleased with the texture and feel of it on my face.  I will keep this moisturizer.

I will also check EWG's website as I need to replace my other cosmetics products.